Utah Valley

December 6, 2013

Provo – A new program recently launched in Provo is providing its students with 12 weeks of intense, hands-on learning of coding and web development—and the chance to land a high-paying tech job.

The program, DEVMOUNTAIN, was launched during the summer and the first session began in September. According to its website, DevMountain is an “after-hours, intense coding school where students are trained and mentored by industry experts. We focus on hands-on learning over old-school lectures. Anyone can code; everyone should.”

During the 12-week course, students learn a variety of topics ranging from core engineering skills and web application basics to front-end development and advanced JavaScript. DevMountain promises to provide hands-on learning, a flipped classroom, intense instruction and engaged mentorship, says Tyler Richards, Co-founder. DevMountain is currently accepting applications for its winter class, which begins Jan. 7.

The coding school, which Richards likes to refer to as a “boot camp,” takes people from no knowledge of coding to the proficiency of a junior software developer.

“We don’t proclaim that we’ll make you as good as someone who has been in the industry for 10 to 20 years, but we will make you very attractive to a tech company,” he says.

DevMountain is partnered with about 10 different local companies, such as PROPERTY SOLUTIONS, BLUE HOST and MONEYDESKTOP.

“The main reason we offer this boot camp is for students to find a job afterward,” Richards says. “If students get hired with one of our partnered companies, they can receive up to 50 percent of their tuition costs back. Our partner companies help out by mentoring for a class session and becoming closely knit with students. When the time comes, they can handpick who they liked or built a relationship with and hire them.”

The course is held on weeknight evenings and Saturday mornings. Richards hopes the course will be held up to three times a year to provide as many people as possible with the opportunity to learn how to code.

Utah County – Fluor Corporation’s I-15 CORE project for the UTAH DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION was selected as one of five finalists for the American Society of Civil Engineers 2014 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award. The design-build project, completed by the Fluor-led PROVO RIVER CONSTRUCTORS joint venture, involved the widening and reconstructing of 24 miles of freeway in 35 months. The winner of the 2014 OCEA award will be announced at the OPAL Gala on March 20, 2014, in Arlington, Va.

Lehi – DURHAM JONES & PINEGAR entered into a pre-lease agreement with THANKSGIVING PARK. The 30,000-square-foot lease kicks off development of a five-story building, Thanksgiving Park 5. Durham Jones & Pinegar plans to relocate its Utah County law office from the Riverwoods in Provo to Thanksgiving Park by Oct. 1, 2014. The transaction was negotiated by COLDWELL BANKER COMMERCIAL NRT.

Provo – PEAK CAPITAL PARTNERS acquired The Artisan, a 434-unit apartment community in Denver. It is the sixth apartment community the company has purchased in Colorado. The firm also acquired Hickory Trace, a 276-unit apartment community in Nashville, Tenn. The company plans to make interior improvements to Hickory Trace that will include new flooring, lighting and hardware upgrades.

Provo – SWIG, a drive-through that serves fountain drinks, Italian soda, hot drinks, shaved ice, smoothies, cookies, donuts and ice cream with two locations in St. George, opened its first Wasatch Front store in Provo in November.

American Fork and Lewiston – PEOPLE’S UTAH BANCORP and LEWISTON BANCORP merged their holding companies, completing the first bank merger in Utah since before the 2008 recession. The combined holding company now operates under the name People’s Utah Bancorp and has approximately $1.2 billion in assets.

Pleasant Grove – INFLUENCE REAL ESTATE opened a new location at 597 S. Pleasant Grove Blvd, Ste. 9. The company hired five new tenured real estate agents and transferred two agents from its original location in Cottonwood Heights.

Orem – UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY received $157,000 through a new grant program that funds training for students in highly sought-after fields. It designated the money to expand its information technology programs.